Firefighters and other first responders, such as Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) personnel and police officers, frequently carry portable radio equipment to facilitate real-time communication with other members of a response team at the scene of an emergency situation. This radio equipment includes the radio unit itself, which can weigh 1-2 pounds or more, as well as a remote speaker microphone (“RSM”) attached to the radio unit via a cord, which is positioned proximate to the lapel of the wearer. Firefighters often carry other equipment, such as flashlights, knives, backup radios, and other tools required in emergency scenarios. Accordingly, the firefighter must wear clothing or other gear that strikes a delicate balance between providing safe storage of the radio and other equipment when not in use and providing quick and easy access to the stored items when required. Firefighters are often exposed to extreme temperatures and that they must frequently crawl and/or squeeze through tight spaces during an emergency situation. Accordingly, a wearable storage system must include protections against melting/heat damage to both the stored items and the storage system itself, as well as protections against entanglement with objects in the emergency environment.
This challenge is compounded in the case of radio equipment because the power of the signal from the radio unit diminishes significantly when the antenna is obstructed. The radios typically used by firefighters generally function best when there is a direct line of sight between the user's radio and the antenna of the system with which the user's radio communicates. Accordingly, optimal signal is achieved when the radio is exposed. For example, the radio may function well when it is extended below the bottom of a firefighter's coat, with the antenna angled away from the wearer's body.
Existing wearable storage solutions of radio equipment include pockets directly incorporated into the firefighter's clothing to hold the equipment and shoulder straps (generally made of leather) designed to position the radio equipment near the wearer's hip and, in some cases, include a leash mechanism attached to the belt or pants (prone to snagging or entanglement) to keep the radio generally in place. Each of these conventional means poses a number of drawbacks and risks which may detract from the functionality of the radio equipment, and/or increase the risk of harm to the equipment and/or the firefighter himself. For example, storage of the radio in a pocket both significantly weakens the power of the signal and also increases the risk of equipment loss from the radio falling out of the pocket—especially if the wearer is crawling. In the case of conventional shoulder straps, the sheer weight of the radio may strain the wearer's neck and/or shoulders after use for a period of time, causing discomfort and pain. Further, the conventional shoulder strap is often inconvenient, because when the firefighter is preparing to respond to an emergency, the shoulder strap must generally be taken off to don personal protective equipment (“PPE”) such as turnout gear, and then put back on over the PPE, which increases the response time to the emergency situation. The anti-sway leash can also be unwieldy and interfere with PPE, and it does nothing to relieve the weight burden on the wearer's neck and/or shoulder. In both the pocket and shoulder strap scenarios, the RSM and/or the cord thereto is also exposed to a significant risk of being melted, damaged, and/or entangled with the environment because they are often positioned almost entirely outside of the protection of the PPE.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue to seek improved devices for safely and effectively storing wearable items such as radio equipment, without detracting from the functionality of the items in the field.